THE THREE C’S: CANDID CONVERSATIONS WITH CEE | Spooky Scary Stories & The Big Scaredy Cat (aka Me)

Happy Halloween, everybody! Since it’s Halloween, I wanted to talk about how I’m a big fat scaredy cat.

That’s right. You read that right.

I’m a big scaredy cat.

I rarely read any scary stories growing up because I refused to touch them. I stay away from scary movies because I don’t find them entertaining. I usually spend the majority of my time with my eyes close, wishing for it to end. I don’t like it when there’s gore and when things pop out of nowhere. I don’t do well when there’s a lot of suspense. I get a lot of anxiety, so I just want it to be over. I’m scared even when I turn off the TV and it shows that fuzzy black and white screen with the white noise, I get creeped out. (It makes me think of The Ring. D:) Scary things make me hide under my blankets and wish for sleep to come fast.

Did you know –?

• I can’t touch covers with scary images (like the Goosebumps series and even Bunnicula). I know that’s weird, but hey, what happens if I absorb the scariness? What happens then? Possession is a thing. ;D
  • (ie. I remember owning a book that was about a horse ghost and I could not touch it because the cover freaked me out. When I had to move it, I had to wear gloves or use paper to wrap so I didn’t have to touch it.)

• When I was little, I watched Casper and had a nightmare that featured Casper’s three uncles. I swear I saw the fat one when I woke up from the nightmare. HE SCARED THE SHIT OUT OF ME. I remember quickly turning on my side so my back was facing it and covered my head with my blankets, squeezing my eyes shut. (They can’t get to me if I’m all wrapped up.)

• When I was in elementary school, I hated going into the music room on the first/basement floor of the main building when my reading tutor took there. I looked forward when she came because I got to miss class to read with her, but I always worried that she’d take me down to the music room because I hated it there. The lights always flickered and a part of the room was usually a bit darker than the rest. I heard rumors that it was haunted and I was scared of seeing something out of place or floating when I was reading. I always counted down the seconds until we could leave.

• When I read Turn of the Screw by Henry James for class, I found myself looking over my shoulder every couple of minutes when I was in the library or at home. I really liked the book, but I was incredibly afraid of Peter Quint appearing out of nowhere like he did in the book. It obviously wasn’t going to happen, but you can blame my imagination.

• You know how there are old-timey photos in In The Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters? Well, every time there was one, I would cover it with my hands because I didn’t want to look at them. I was too freaked out by the idea of ghosts in it, especially since I was reading at night time…before going to sleep. Eek! REALNESS. NO THANK YOU.

• Strangely enough, I attempted to write my own psychological detective-ghost story for NaNoWriMo last year. The ghost aspect of it wasn’t the main thing I wanted to highlight; it was more the idea of a recluse main character forced outside to figure out this ghost mystery. I wrote the first few pages, but never finished it. I will one day.

• I have never read any Stephen King books. And I am kind of okay with that.

I wish I were tough, but alas, I am not.

Are you a big scaredy cat like me? Or are you tougher than me? Do you have any stories like mines? If you have recommendations of scary/horror books you think I absolutely have to read (because it’s a must), leave it in the comments. I can’t guarantee I will actually read it.